In common with many Western countries, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has a major problem with obesity and the associated public health issues. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been developing new health policies to lower intakes of sugar, saturated fats, trans fats and salt with the aim of reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity) in children and adults. To implement these policies successfully it is essential to have high quality food composition and food intake data to underpin research into the links between diet and health and to enable effective dietary monitoring and policy development. Most EMR countries use international food composition tables that include foods consumed in western diets with different nutrient composition, especially for mixed and traditional dishes. Some of these data from other countries are outdated and do not reflect the composition of foods currently consumed in EMR countries, meaning that calculated nutrient intakes are inaccurate. Methods of measuring dietary intake also need to be up-to-date and use appropriate food information. This project intends to provide technical and scientific support for researchers (mainly food and nutrition experts) in LMIC countries in the EMR, and will also provide training in the use of improved standardized methods for production and management of food composition and food intake data and also identify appropriate biological markers of food nutritional value and measurements of health outcomes. A review will be undertaken of food and nutrient intakes in the LMICs to develop strategies for reducing sugary and fatty foods in these diets based on new WHO guidelines. The Quadram Bioscience Institute, that aims to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and infectious disease and non communicable disease, will lead the project in partnership with the WHO EMR office. The latter will help to coordinate and co-align regional activities to ensure public health priorities are targeted effectively. Three main activities will underpin capacity building in the EMR with a focus on 10 target LMICs (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran & Afghanistan). The project will build on existing links with the WHO EMR and will develop and extend activities with LMIC in the EMR. Four main activities are planned: (1) Training and knowledge exchange workshops; (2) Short-term exchanges of researchers; (3) Development and application of harmonised protocols for pilot sample collection, food analysis, data generation and creation of online regional food composition datasets; (4) Development of possible dietary and other strategies to support reduction in intake of sugary and fatty foods. The main outcomes will be to build capacity and practical skills in the LMIC to improve production, management and use of food composition and dietary intake data, and biomarkers. Knowledge of European and International standards will be disseminated, with support from WHO, to experts across the region. Networks of expertise within the region will also be an important outcome leading to increased collaboration and effective data sharing. The project will enable more efficient use of better quality, region specific, food composition and intake data that can be used for research, monitoring and policy development. This will benefit LMICs in the region by providing data and tools that can encourage reduction of sugar, saturated fat, trans fats and salt and thereby reduce the incidence of diet related disease.

Our programme focuses on the care needs of adults living at home with chronic health problems or disabilities, and seeks sustainable solutions to the UK's contemporary 'crisis of care'. It is distinctive in investigating sustainability and wellbeing in care holistically across care systems, work and relationships; addresses disconnection between theorisations of care in different disciplines; and locates all its research in the context of international scholarship, actively engaging with policy partners. It will fill knowledge gaps, contribute new theoretical ideas and data analyses, and provide useful, accurate evidence to inform care planning, provision and experience. It develops and critically engages with policy and theoretical debates about: care infrastructure (systems, networks, partnerships, standards); divisions of caring labour/the political economy of care (inequalities, exploitation); care ethics, rights, recognition and values (frameworks, standards, entitlements, wellbeing outcomes); care technologies and human-technological interactions; and care relations in emotional, familial, community and intergenerational context. Our team comprises 20 scholars in 7 universities, linked to an international network spanning 15 countries. Our programme comprises integrative activities, in which the whole team works together to develop a new conceptual framework on sustainable care and wellbeing, and two Work Strands, each with 4 linked projects, on 'Care Systems' & 'Care Work & Relationships'. 'Care Systems' will: (i) study prospects, developments and differentiation in the four care systems operating in England, N. Ireland, Scotland & Wales, comparing their approaches to markets, privatisation and reliance on unpaid care; (ii) model costs and contributions in care, covering those of carers and employers as well as public spending on care; (iii) assess the potential of emerging technologies to enhance care system sustainability; and (iv) analyse, in a dynamic policy context, migrant care workers' role in the sustainability of homecare. 'Care Work & Relationships' will: (i) develop case studies of emerging homecare models, and assess their implications for sustainable wellbeing; (ii) focus on carers who combine employment with unpaid care, filling gaps in knowledge about the effectiveness of workplace support and what care leave and workplace standard schemes can contribute to sustainable care arrangements; (iii) explore how care technologies can be integrated to support working carers, ensuring wellbeing outcomes across caring networks; and (iv) investigate care 'in' and 'out of' place, as systems adapt or come under pressure associated with population diversity and mobility. Each project will collaborate with our international partners. These scholars, in 26 collaborating institutions, will ensure we learn from others about ways of understanding, measuring or interpreting developments in how care is organised and experienced, and keep up to date with latest research and scholarship. Our capacity-building strategy will build future scholarly expertise in the study of sustainability and wellbeing in care, and ensure our concepts, methods, and research findings achieve international standards of excellence. Universities in our partnership are contributing 5 UK & 12 overseas PhD studentships, enabling us to form an international early career scholar network on sustainable care, supported by our senior team and partners. Our impact strategy, led by Carers UK, involves leading UK and international policy partners. Informing policy, practice and debate, we will co-produce analyses and guidance, enhance data quality, promote good practice and engage decision-makers, policymakers, practitioners in the public, private and voluntary sectors, carers, people with care needs, and the media. Our Advisory Board of leading academics, policy/practice figures and opinion formers will guide all our work.